Back In Mesa AZ for the Winter…

We left Tacna AZ earlier than usual at about 9:30 am for the 168 mile drive to the east. About 3.5 hours later we pulled into Mesa Regal RV Resort, a Cal-Am park. We were last here three years ago and the price went up a lot since then. It is getting a bit on the pricier side for monthly stays but what we love about the park is that it is friendly and there is always a lot if things to do.

 

We pulled into the park knowing our site would be a tight fit as it is always a bit challenging to maneuver a larger RV in one of the Mesa Regal sites. We were escorted to our spot and knew it would be tough not only because each site has citrus trees to watch for but in our case the park model we would be beside had a large added on porch structure.  With our slides out we almost feel we are on their porch! Thankfully our friendly neighbors volunteered extra sets of eyes we made it in fairly easily. We now have Abbey nestled in and set up for our two month stay.

It didn’t take long for us to begin our winter routine. Sharon goes to the fitness center in the morning while I catch up on all the world’s events. Next is lunch and then I head over to the fitness center to workout. We usually take a long walk in around the park in the afternoon or over to the nearby grocery store or vegetable stand. I usually meander over to the hot tub around 2 in the afternoon for a long soak then afterward Sharon and I meet for the live music on the patio.

One change since we were last here is they have shortened happy hour to a single hour from 3 to 4 pm and the prices have gone up considerably. It is after all a Cal-Am park but it sad to see it starting to pinch the residents for more money. Anyhow another change for the better is that there is now free music everyday somewhere in the park.  At least we are getting something we enjoy for the extra money we will be spending inside the park. There may be even more offerings to discover as we received a large packet upon arrival with an informational magazine we haven’t read yet. 

So, we have been here over a week and have already made a few new friends. During one of the special monthly events called the Manager’s Happy Hour (held once a month) we joined our new Canadian friends and met more of their friends. It was a lot of fun and laughs buying 25 cent beers featured as the special. Many 25 cent beers were consumed and with the lively band, it was indeed a memorable evening of entertainment!

I will write more later but for now it is time for us to go play some pickleball…

NOTE: We are currently in Mesa Arizona until March 11th 2020, then over to Tucson for a few days.

Tacna Arizona for three nights…

We certainly liked our stay at Rio Bend RV Resort in El Centro and look forward to visiting again whenever we return to this area. As the morning came we packed up the RV and readied for our departure. We had three more days to kill before landing in Mesa Arizona for the remainder of the winter so we found a sleepy little spot out in the middle of nowhere.

After a couple hours of driving eastward we pulled into Tacna Arizona and will spend three nights at the Copper Mountain RV Park. We chose this park as it was close to midway from El Centro to Mesa Arizona and because they had a great Passport America rate at $20 per night.

Located behind a truck stop I was worried it would be noisy but we never really heard anything other than a slight hum of traffic from the interstate highway nearby. This park may have the largest sites we have ever been to for a commercial park. It was only about 1/3 full and at $265 per month would be a great place to stay, at least for those with an ATV. Without an ATV there really didn’t seem to be a lot to do around here.

We did a few walks around the park and on one of those walks we discovered that there was a full kitchen in the clubhouse which had a refrigerator with a sign advertising ice cream treats in the freezer for a dollar. We had both been craving a treat so we each ponied up the $1 in the tin can atop the fridge for 2 Nutty Buddies. Hah, what can say we both really enjoyed this little unexpected treat.

The park also provided a free reverse osmosis water machine which dispenses wonderful drinking water. At check in we were told this was offered since their well water tastes a little salty. No problem cooking with it or showering in it but they suggested we take advantage of the free distilled water, and we did.

We also took a drive around the area and basically verified there wasn’t much to see and do.  We drove down some of the dirt roads in Quigley Wildlife Area but there really wasn’t much to see. We came across a roadside plaque on the Gila River Corridor describing the Petroglyph Site on Antelope Hill. We climbed up the hillside and sure enough we found some petroglyphs on some of the rocks not very far from the signs. Pretty cool for a place with not much to offer.

The three days passed by pretty quickly and we once again packed up for our move over to Mesa AZ…

NOTE: We are currently in Mesa Arizona until March 11th 2020, then over to Tucson for a few days.